Believe
by Droory
Summary: Sheba is unsure of herself, what to believe in, or how to keep believing. Ivan is there to reassure her and her beliefs.


**_Hey all, here's a little something I wrote during a ten minute challenge I set myself.  
Hope it stands up against the others I have written._**

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Believe. He always told her to believe. Finally, just before Mars Lighthouse, she asked the question that haunted her when he told her to do just that during the hard times: '_How do I keep believing?'_ It was a simple question, one that no doubt everyone asked in their lives at least once. People were always forced to question their beliefs, what guided their lives in times of desperation and crisis? Belief was quite a thing to have, a very easy thing to lose, and a very hard thing to regain.

She fondly admired his smile as he looked out into the Proxian landscape from his room in the inn. He took a breath, his mystical purple eyes reflecting the torches strained light amidst the bitter snow storm, and slowly began explaining his definition of belief. It was a simple, yet complex thing, yet it was _how_ he explained it that restored hers.

"_Belief is a fickle thing. It's easy to say you believe… an entirely different thing to actually _believe_. It requires conviction, being able to devote all of yourself to something. People seem to think that to believe in something it has to be an intangible being, a higher force. I do believe in such things, my representative, Jupiter and her avatars for example. Yet, I do not let my belief in them guide me, praying that they might protect me, give me the strength to go on. No, the thing I believe in, the thing that drives me, the thing that keeps me from falling and keeps me strong even in the worst of times and in the face of such a challenge as the Lighthouse tomorrow, is my belief in all of you."_

She didn't quite understand that. She did and she didn't. She could comprehend believing in friends, relying on them, but to believe in them as a force like the Gods baffled her. She asked how he could believe they could all survive the next day, how he wouldn't look for some other form to drive them all on and help them through it.

He chuckled in response, turning his eyes and boyish grin to face her as he answered. He answered with such softness, conviction… and belief, that it startled her… and made her believe too, "_I can believe in all of you, _because _I believe in all of you. It is as simple as that. I believe we will all make it through this, _because _we believe in each other."_

It had been a simple answer, yet, it was perfect. His belief allowed his belief, it sustained itself. He didn't need justification, or anything to fall back on, because he believed his belief would shine true, but it couldn't just be that easy. She called him on it. She asked how he could believe without any security behind it, without anything to protect him should belief fail.

Again, he answered easily, almost prepared for the question, smiling all the time, _"__That's what makes it difficult._ _Belief has nothing safe. That's what makes it so powerful. You believe and it's the strength of it that assures its safety, if you falter in it, it will drop you, hold onto it and it will hold you. To have something safe to fall back on shows doubt in it, and will prove to destroy it. You just need to believe."_

She wasn't sure if she could. She doubted everything about tomorrow. It would be the hardest thing ever. Hama had said so… she said they would die if they weren't prepared. They had travelled to every corner of Weyard, exploring every inch of it to ensure they were… and still she felt as though Hama's fears would become true.

Ivan spoke up, unprompted, perhaps sensing her inner torment, "_You should believe in yourself. I know you can."_

She smiled in response, nodding t him and thanking him kindly for his advice and his help through her doubts. She tried to leave just after, wanting to, but her body seemed unwilling to drag her away from him, he who always made things easy for her. Her best friend.

_"Can I stay here for a while?"_ She asked quietly, her eyes turned to the floor.

He beamed and patted the spot beside him on the bed.

She whispered thanks bashfully. She did have to admit that she had a crush on him, and tried to hide her blush as she sat beside him on his bed. None could blame her, he was cute, and a great friend, and always did his best to help her out. Maybe it was the kinship with her, or maybe he felt for her for being so alone, it could have been anything. Either way, she was always glad to have met him in Jupiter Lighthouse.

She spent the next part of an hour or two resting her head on his shoulder, slowing drifting off as he softly spoke with her, assuring her, making her smile, laugh, blush, everything a friend should do.

"_Hey, Ivan?"_ Sheba whispered, her voice lulled with her relaxed and tired state. The two of them had gone from sitting to lying on the bed, with Sheba resting her head against his chest as she cuddled up to him for the extra warmth. She pondered Ivan's words over the hours and reached an answer: he was right. She should believe in herself, in all of them, without question. Most of all, she should believe in him, for guiding her and being her best friends since Jupiter Lighthouse.

_"Hmm__?"_ He mumbled having fallen into a deep state of relaxation and semi-conciousness. His hand absently stroking the golden hair on her head.

_"I love you."_

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_**Well, there you have it. Shortest fic yet.  
Could it have been longer? Yes. Could it have gone into more detail? Yes.**_  
_**But I think it's the lack thereof that makes me like this story.  
Well, do let me know what you think by dropping a review if you'd be so kind.**_

_**Your frend and writer,**_  
_**Droory**_


End file.
